Customer Reviews

Dizzy Gillespie & The Mitchell-Ruff Duo, V. 1

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I've always felt that the comparative lack of attention received by Dwike Mitchell and Willie Ruff, despite their travels to South America and Russia (they were apparently more foreign to American ears) and a book written about them by William Zinsser, was due to their academic affiliations and absence from sessions featuring major players (Willie's name would show up on some orchestra sessions as a French horn player, but that was about it). Despite owning three albums by them, I don't think I've ever met anyone who has heard of them let alone heard them. So the discovery of this date with Dizzy Gillespie comes as a pleasant surprise. Like most of the duo's recordings, it's no longer available in any sort of album format--analog or digital--but Amazon has thoughtfully preserved the tracks for downloading. Diz is in excellent form, frequently recalling the pre-1960s dominating force that he had been, both as a trumpet player and a musical innovator. Unfortunately, his early recording of Strayhorn's "Chelsea Bridge," though a masterpiece, is not to be found among the downloadable tracks of that tune. So it's availability here, even if with scaled-down instrumentation, is all the more heartening.

When I first heard the concerts of Dizzy plus the great duo: Dwike Mitchell (a fantasic pianoplayer) and Willie Ruff (great bassist and horn player) I could not believe my ears! It was the record "Enduring Magic", and how right that tittle was and still is. Of course I started hunting for more and found a 3-LP box :"Dizzy Gillespie-Live, with the Mitchell-Ruff Duo", with recordings of several different concerts of the great group.
Later on I found cd's by Mainstream (2x released)and a Japanese release also on Mainstream, but released by Sony Japan. Recently I found out that my first record is also on Japanese cd: "Enduring Magic" and this one at hand has also some missing pieces and has the same Olympic quality.
Because not only Dizzy is great, as he always was, but Dwike Mitchell is a real discovery!
He is indeed a great pianoplayer and I am sorry to find out, that the earlier reviewer does not like his music.
As much as I like Dizzy, I really like Dwike Mitchell playing the blues.
Pieces like "Street of dreams" and certainly "Blues People" are of the highest standard in jazz.
As I really didn't hear about this great duo, I started hunting for more, bought several old LP's, and even a book about these fine musicians, because how could it be that I never heard before about these two giants?
Well, I know now that these two musicians decided not to go on the road and get famous, but stayed a the University to give lessons.
However, other jazzgreats (like Dizzy) knew about these hidden treasures: these very fine musicians, and liked to play with them.
Of course the duo did make recordings, but only a small part of that output is released on cd.
I see the musical meetings of jazzlegend Dizzy Gillespie with these two mastermusicians as burried treasures.
Everything they recorded during the 70ths and 80ths should be released on cd to pass on to the next generation, certainly that great 3-LP-box set, but everything else they did too.
Because what we have hear at hand is a JAZZCLASSIC!
I am really sorry for the other gentleman, but I like to hear a lot more from this great pianoplayer: Dwike Mitchell, and I treasure a cd like this one.
Not only because of Dizzy (who was a great friend), but also because of the pianotracks.
This is stunning music! All of it. Period.

Arnold van Kampen, writer, jazzcritic from the Netherlands.

Used to own the vinyl disc then years later I found a three(?) record package of this set featuring "Diz & the M-R Duo". I've been waiting for this stellar music to be released on CD and was so happy to finally have some of it until hearing the "added" piano pieces sans Diz. I feel The Kepler Label diminished the impact of this CD by including the piano pieces at the expense of so much more music with Diz. Months ago, I wrote to Kepler asking about the future release of the remaining music from this set (for this disc is also labeled "Vol. 1), and I still haven't heard from them. Hope Kepler straightens up and flies right.